"If a nation is a family living with and in the home culture, then it can be understood as the Museum's family album. In the album's photographs of the whole family is saved and compiled from every age and generation. The pictures were not just staring to visit and religious visit to a past, because time does not only consist of dimensions of space yesterday, today and tomorrow. The photographs are the time to be a place to stare and make sense of the whole, not just events, but also the meaning behind the event- event. elucidation of the entire identity, within and outside the city. The photos were eventually no longer be understood as an object "(HU Mind, February 22, 2001).
The description suggests, the museum not only function as institutions that collect and display objects relating to the historical development of human life and the environment, but it is an institution that has a duty to conduct coaching and development of the nation's cultural values and personality in order to strengthen national identity, strengthen faith and devotion to God, and to improve self-esteem and national pride.
In fact, today there are still many people, including the education community, which views the Museum serves only as a place to store and maintain historical relics and monuments decorate the city. As a result, many people are reluctant to spend time visiting the Museum on the grounds of ancient and not prestige, but if all people took the time to come to enjoy and try to understand the meaning contained in each of the exhibits the museum, there will be a value transformations nation's cultural heritage from previous generations to the present generation.
For education, the existence of a museum that can not be separated, because its existence is able to answer many questions that arise in the learning process is mainly concerned with the history of human development, culture and environment.
Museums as Learning Resources
As an institution that store, preserve and showcase the works, human creativity and initiative throughout the ages, the museum is a great place as a source of learning for the education community, because the objects are on display visitors can learn about various things regarding the value, attention and human livelihoods .
Observation activities conducted by students at the Museum is a springboard for the emergence of an idea and new ideas because at this activity students are stimulated to use his ability to think critically optimally. Ability to think these students according to Takai and Connor (1998), includes:
a. Comparing and contrasting (ability to recognize similarities and differences in the observed objects)
b. Identifying and Classifying (the ability to identify and classify objects observed in the group should be).
c. Describing (ability to communicate orally and written descriptions regarding the object being observed).
d. Predicting (the ability to predict what happens with respect to the object being observed).
e. Summarizing (the ability to make conclusions from the information obtained at the Museum in a brief and concise report).
Ability to think it will not appear on its own without adequate guidance and coaching from the teacher. Efforts that can be done by teachers in cultivating students' critical thinking skills through the activities of the visit to the Museum, including:
a. In learning activities in the classroom for a particular material, teachers need to be frequently asked, appoint or recommend students visit the Museum in order to prove the description in the textbook by looking at the evidence contained in the museum. This activity is ideally done by involving students in an amount not too large to facilitate teachers and museum guides to guide students while observing the museum collection.
b. Provide advance briefing to the students before visiting the Museu, mainly related to the material that will be observed. This activity is done so that the students' growing sense of self to know and prove what is informed by the teacher or museum guide.
c. Providing learning support tool for students, in the form of sheets or worksheets pannduan that the material is arranged as short and dense as possible and able to nurture students' critical power of the object being observed.
d. During the visit the teacher or museum guide located near the student to provide guidance and conduct a small discussion with students regarding the object being observed.
e. After the visit, students are asked to make a report of the conclusions obtained from the results of the visit to the museum, then the results are discussed in class.
f. At the end of the activity, teachers need to evaluate the program activities of the visit as a measure of success of the visit.
In addition to efforts made by teachers in the visit to the Museum, the organizer (curator) museum also need to make efforts so that visitors, especially the education community can obtain maximum results in the activities of his visit. Efforts can be made by the manager of the museum in making the museum as a resource for learning activities, including:
a. Panel provides brief information regarding the division of space and type of collections on display at the museum entrance, so visitors can obtain a complete picture of the contents of the museum as the museum entrance door, so that even if visitors go to just one room, he will not lose "stories" that presented the museum.
b. Provides information panels are presented in full and interesting as a complementary collection of objects exhibits and dioramas.
c. Provide a variety of educational activities supporting facilities, such as leaflets, brochures, guide books, films, micro films, slides and student worksheets (BLM), so that visitors to easily study the museum objects on display.
d. Specifically with regard to LKS, LKS museum should be designed to suit the needs of individual students 'age levels and is able to arouse students' critical power in accordance with its level.
e. Museums need to organize a variety of game activities interesting museums and will be able to enhance students' understanding of objects on display.
The need for cooperation between the schools with the Museum Manager
Above have been described that the optimal utilization of the museum by students can be achieved if prior to conducting a visit to the museum are given recognition in advance with respect to the materials or objects on display. Through pre-visit exploration activity is expected students will be able to capture a variety of important information regarding the objects are exhibited in accordance with what is expected. To be able to perform the guidance of teachers in the visit to the museum, so teachers need to establish cooperation with the museum in order to obtain complete information about museums and collections are on display.
Instead the manager (curator) museum in preparing a variety of educational programs at museums and supporting facilities, need to cooperate with the education community for educational programs at museums and supporting facilities, such as worksheets, can according to what the demands of the school curriculum. In addition, the museum with one another in the same city needs to cooperate in making the book a museum with information that will be the book can be distributed to the education community, especially schools, so when it will conduct a visit to the museum is easy to determine which teachers will visited in accordance with the demands of the curriculum at the time.
Finally, through the utilization of the Museum as a source of learning is expected to be able to improve the quality of our education and the existence of the museum is not just a decoration or a monument to the city
